Memorial Day
by JodithGrace
Summary: Jam Sessions Part 5: Jim and Pam have their first real date.


Memorial Day

By Jody E.

I do not possess these characters. Rather, they possess me.

This is Part 4 of an ongoing series called Jam Sessions. Part 1: Redacted, Part 2: A Tale of Two Guys, Part 3:Dunder Mifflin Dot Com.

Note: This story contains no spoilers for The X-Men III Movies, as I haven't seen it yet.

Jim sat on one of the tasteful but uncomfortable Naugahyde chairs in the lobby of the corporate offices of Dunder Mifflin. His last training session had ended a half an hour ago, but he was afraid to leave the lobby. Pam was supposed to meet him here at 5 PM and no way was he going to miss her. It was ridiculous for him to be feeling so nervous, but he had been feeling edgy all day today.

The training had gone surprisingly well. Of course a lot of it was taking aptitude tests and listening to motivational speeches, which, for the most part, were anything but motivating. But part of it, particularly yesterday's session, involved role-playing and improvisation. There were eight people in his class, five men and three women, all of whom were considered to be "on the rise" in the paper business. Their instructor, Paul, who was actually the director of a professional Improv troupe, had them act out various scenarios that might arise in their working environment, such as having to fire somebody (ack!) or giving performance reviews. Jim's natural gift for mimicry, plus his sense of fun had led him to really make an effort in his scenes. He accepted one performance review as woeful Kevin, which made everybody laugh, and when he fired somebody as Michael, his stammering and inability to actually say the words, "You're fired," caused Jan who had stopped by briefly, to choke on her coffee. His enthusiasm was catching, and as a result, the class really got a lot out of the session. Paul came up to him afterwards and was disappointed to hear that he wasn't from New York. He suggested that Jim might be interested in Community Theater, or a local Improv class. The whole experience was surprising, and rather gratifying.

But as fun as yesterday's session had been, today's was just plain torture. More evaluations, and questionnaires, more literature to read. And all day Jim knew that Pam was here in the city, having lunch with Jan, and there was nothing he could do but try to look interested in the proper way to fill out an Estimated Sales Report, and the intricacies of the new sales software package.

Fortunately, it was the beginning of the Memorial Day Weekend, so the session let out early. His hotel was only a couple of blocks from Dunder Mifflin, so Jim ran back and deposited his briefcase full of informative literature, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, (not that it did much good) and dashed back to the lobby, where he sat, pretending to read USA Today and trying not to fidget.

Thank God, she was early. Jim looked up at quarter to five, to see Pam pushing through the revolving glass doors. Jim's heart leapt at the sight of her, looking as fresh and pretty as a May afternoon. An ordinary, small town girl, perhaps, but more beautiful than any supermodel to him.

He jumped up, leaving his newspaper on the table, and went over to meet her. She gave him a big smile and he returned it and they stood there, awkwardly for a moment as he tried to decide whether to hug her or kiss her, or whether that would be too forward right in the lobby of Dunder Mifflin. He eventually settled for saying "Hi."

"Hey," she responded, amused at his obvious dilemma," So, is your training all done?"

"Yep. The brainwashing is complete. I am now Dunder Mifflin's slave for life. Let's get out of here, please?"

They exited through the revolving doors out onto the street. After a cooler than normal Spring, it was finally beginning to feel like summer, but without the heat that summer brings to the City. A perfect late spring afternoon.

"Do you need to go back to the hotel? Maybe drop off your shopping bag?"

"Yeah, that's a really good idea. I've been walking for hours, and these shoes may have been a mistake."

He looked down at the high heels, obviously worn for the meeting with Jan. "Well, we're not doing anything too fancy, so you can change if you want. I think I will, too. I've been stuck in a suit all week."

They had decided against trying to get tickets to a Broadway musical. Everything good was sold out on line, and Jim didn't have time during the day to go to the box office or TKTS booth to see if he could get anything last minute. They ended up deciding not to make any specific plans but just hang out, maybe see a movie.

As they walked toward the hotel, Pam had to walk quickly to keep up with Jim's long stride. When she stumbled slightly on the uneven pavement, he noticed, and slowed down, taking her hand. "Sorry. I always forget not to walk so fast. We're not in any hurry."

When they got to the Marriott, Pam discovered her room was opposite his on the third floor. Dunder Mifflin kept two double rooms year round, for visitors to the corporate headquarters. Until today, Jim had shared his room with a guy named Fred from the management training class, and two of the women in that class had shared the room that was now Pam's. But now that the training was over, Fred, Peggy and Jill were on their way home to Albany. They had invited him for a drink with them at the hotel bar last night, but he hadn't felt like it. The girls had sounded disappointed, but Jim didn't care. Fred hadn't gotten back to the room until after 3:00 AM, and was really hurting in the seminars all morning. Jim was thankful he hadn't gone. The classes today had been awful enough, _without _a hangover.

Jim walked Pam to her door; "I'll meet you in the lobby in...well, how long do you need?"

"Fifteen minutes?"

"Great. See ya in fifteen."

Jim was very glad to get out of his suit and put on a pair of jeans and a dark green polo shirt. He decided that there was time to quickly shave again, just in case, and he was back down in the lobby at the allotted time. Pam was already there, wearing jeans and her pink striped shirt. She carried her pink cardigan sweater and her purse "It feels wonderful to get back to my sneakers. " she said, "I'm not much of a person for heels."

Jim shook his head at her Keds, "Oh too bad. There goes next year's whitest sneakers award. One night in New York City and they'll never be white again."

"Well, that's just a risk I am prepared to take." She held out her hand and Jim took it, "So where do you want to go?"

"Are you hungry? There are a bunch of restaurants on this street."

"Actually, I'm starving. I was too nervous to eat much at my lunch today with Jan."

"Well, then let's walk down this way, towards Broadway and see what looks good." They left the hotel and turning right, walked down the street, holding hands, Jim careful to watch his stride, "So how _was_ your lunch with Jan? Besides nerve wracking, that is?"

Pam stopped walking, "Oh Jim, it sounds so cool, " she said, bouncing around a little, the way she always did when she was excited about something, Jim loved seeing her like that." I'll be coming into the city every weekend during July and August and taking classes in Graphic Design. Then for two weeks in September, I'll be working with the Graphic Design department. I won't get paid for the weekends, but I can stay at the hotel, for free, so I'll only have to pay for food, and well, this could lead to a job offer or who knows what! "

"Pam...that sounds great!" he put his arms out and she went into them and he gave her a big hug, wrapping his arms around her, "I am so happy for you."

"I can't believe I wasn't going to do this!"

"Well, you changed your mind just in time. And Stamford's less than an hour from New York, so maybe I can see you sometimes when you're here."

"We'll see, " she said with a grin, "Ooh…there's a Chinese restaurant. Let's have Chinese food!"

"Chinese?" Jim sounded doubtful.

"Sure. Don't you like Chinese food?"

"Uh…sure. Chinese is fine."

They went into the restaurant and were greeted by the waiter who showed them to a table near the window. It was early and the place was almost empty. He returned almost immediately with a pot of tea, a bowl of crispy noodles, and two huge menus. "I be right back," he said in strongly accented English, "to take your order."

As soon as he left, Pam started to giggle, "This is awful, " she said, "I just keep getting this terrible picture in my head of..."

"Ping." Jim finished, "I know. Me too. Let's face it...Michael has turned us into racists." He shook his head, sadly.

"And we used to be such nice people, too." She opened her menu, trying to speak seriously, "What should we order?"

"I know what I want. Beef with Broccoli."

Pam looked at him over her menu. His was still flat on the table. "That was quick. You didn't even look at the menu."

He shrugged, "Yeah, I know. Beef with Broccoli is pretty much the only thing I ever eat in Chinese restaurants."

Pam stared at him, "Why?"

"Well, there are only three things in it...beef, broccoli and sauce, all of which I recognize. I'm afraid that I'm not a big fan of mystery food."

Pam looked scandalized, "James Halpert...are you telling me that you're a picky eater?"

He smiled sheepishly, "I'm not picky. I just like normal, everyday type food. Stuff like hamburgers and pizza and spaghetti, " he brightened, "I like the food at C_hili's_."

Pam sniffed in mock disdain, "Oh sure...praise the restaurant that has banned me for life! Well, I hate to tell you this, Jim, but you may _not_ order Beef with Broccoli tonight."

Jim raised his eyebrows, "Oh yeah? Sez who?"

"Sez _me_, that's who. Listen, Jim. The only reason that you and I are sitting here in this restaurant in New York City, _together_, is because we both decided to take a gamble...get out of our ruts. Am I right?"

Jim nodded, suppressing a smile. "You are _absolutely_ right."

"So, tell me, How is it getting out of your rut if you order the same Chinese food that you've been eating since you were a kid?"

Jim nodded again, "Good point. _Very_ good point. Okay, Miss Beesly, what do you suggest I order? What's good?"

Pam shrugged, "I have no idea…all _I_ ever order is Fried Rice!"

Jim snorted with laughter. "You are _such_ a dork. Okay...I have an idea." He opened the menu and found the pages labeled Chef's Specials, "We will each close our eyes and point to something on one of these two pages. Whatever we point to, we have to order. Even if it's fried crickets or jellied duck web. And we have to try both dishes. Deal?"

Pam's eyes gleamed, "Deal."

"You go first. And you'd better hurry. The waiter is coming over."

Pam closed her eyes, and her finger hovered over the pages. Finally it came down and she looked. "Oh. Okay. This could be good. Happy Family. I mean, how terrible could a dish be that's called Happy Family? It's got chicken and shrimp and pork. And vegetables."

Jim grinned, "Well, if it's anything like _my_ family it probably has nuts in it, too."

Pam giggled, "Now it's your turn."

He closed his eyes and pointed, "Hmmm. Oh, Moo Shu Pork. I've heard of that." He didn't mention that Katie had ordered it once, when they were going out. "It comes with pancakes."

"Just think of it as breakfast." Pam suggested.

They were both still laughing when the waiter came over to take their order.

"So, now what would you like to do? " Jim asked as they drank the last of their tea, and Jim waited for the waiter to come back with his credit card. "Want to see a movie?"

Pam looked thoughtful, "Well, as a matter of fact there is a movie opening today that I would really like to see. But I just don't know if it's the kind of thing you would enjoy."

"What is it? Something with subtitles? I mean, I don't care…whatever you want to see.."

"Wait a minute, I'm trying to remember what it's called…something beginning with an X. X-Friends? No. X…"

Jim's face lit up, "_X-Men Three_? My God… that's opening today! I totally forgot! I've been _dying_ to see that!"

Pam laughed, "_Duh_. You've only had it circled on your desk calendar for the last month! I can't believe you forgot!"

"Well, they say that the mind is the first thing to go." The waiter brought back Jim's card, along with a small plate containing two fortune cookies. Jim signed, adding a large tip, just because he was feeling so happy, and offered the plate to Pam. "Fortune cookie?"

Pam took one and gave the plate back to Jim. "This is my favorite part." She crumbled the cookie and took out the slip of paper. She frowned, "Hmmm. This isn't a fortune. It's a cliché. 'The longest journey begins with a single step.'"

"Well, you did take a big step today. Maybe it will lead to a longer journey," Jim broke his cookie in half and looked at his fortune, "Now, this is profound. 'Nothing in the world is accomplished without passion.'"

Pam grinned, "That's what _she_ said."

They left the restaurant and headed back to the hotel. Jim hoped that the desk clerk would have a movie schedule, so they could find the nearest theater. "You know, there might be a line to get in."

" I don't care. It's gorgeous out."

At the hotel, they discovered that X-Men III was playing at a theater about three blocks away, starting at 7:30. "An hour, that's perfect, "Jim said, " Are you tired, would you like to take a cab?"

"For three blocks? On an evening like this? No, I'm fine."

As they walked, Jim told Pam all about his week of training, Dunder Mifflin style. And she told him about her day of window shopping. "I did buy something for my Mom and sister, to make up all the trouble I've caused them, with the whole wedding mess."

A line was already forming at the theater for the 7:30 show, but Pam and Jim were near the front. Pam offered to go get the tickets, still feeling guilty about that huge hotel phone bill from the week before, but Jim would have none of it, "Look, Pam, it's our first real date. So let me be 'the guy,' and pay for everything. After tonight, we can work something out, okay?"

"Okay."

He came back quickly with the tickets, and they waited, watching the crowds. Most of the true comic book geeks had caught the midnight show, the night before, but quite a few of them were in the crowd tonight, loudly comparing directors, CGI effects and continuity glitches among the three X-men films. There were quite a few couples, as well, in various stages of relationships, and a whole flock of adolescent boys, which didn't bode well for the noise level of the theater during the show.

Standing on line turned out to be a lot more tiring than walking. Pam's legs were starting to ache, so she leaned back against Jim, and he put his arms around her waist, and they stood like that for a while. Jim didn't feel like talking; just standing there with Pam in his arms, was all he needed to do right then. He actually felt a pang of disappointment when the line began to move.

Action adventure flicks aren't exactly make-out movies, Jim thought as he and Pam found seats towards the back, away from the squads of noisy kids, who tended to crowd towards the front. But that was just as well, as he really wanted to see this. Still, he was very conscious of Pam, sitting next to him, his arm draped over her shoulder, their knees touching now and again as he moved around a bit, trying to find comfort for his long legs in that confined space. Occasionally he turned his head to look at her, just to watch her reaction to the movie. Sometimes she did the same thing and a couple of times they happened to look at the same time, and smiled, comfortable with each other.

After the movie, Jim bought Pam ice cream at a nearby café. "Now if this were a movie, we'd be eating ice cream cones, and after a few bites, we'd throw them away. Nobody in a movie ever finishes an ice cream cone." Jim said as they ate their sundaes.

"I know. It's such a waste. And then we'd have to go do that running on the beach montage thing."

"Yeah. I never could get the hang of running in slow motion. But, of course, if we were in the X-Men, we would get to have super powers. Now that would be fun."

"C'mon, "laughed Pam, "Would you really want to be blue, or all spiky? Though that guy with the wings was awesome. That would be incredible, to fly like that, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah. But those wings would just get in the way all the time. I think I'd prefer to _look _normal, but have hidden mental powers."

"Like Phoenix? But, you can already move coat racks with your mind. What more do you need?"

He laughed, and they talked about the movie for a while. Finally, as they were getting up to leave, Jim said, "Listen, Pam. My parents are having this big barbecue on Monday. Memorial Day. They have one every year. I figured I'd go home for it, since I still have a lot of packing to do, and I was wondering if you'd like to come."

"That's right, Monday's a holiday, isn't it? No work...Nice. Sure...I'd love to come. My parents never do anything on Memorial Day."

"Yeah, well my Dad was in Vietnam. So he always likes to do something a little special on that day. 'Cause he lost a lot of friends, there."

"Oh. That's too bad. But he got through it okay?"

"Yeah. I guess. He doesn't ever talk about it, so…" Jim shrugged.

"Yeah. I can understand that. It's the same thing with my uncle. Well, the only thing we ever did on Memorial Day was go to the parade. South Williamsport, where we lived before moving to Scranton, always had the world's lamest Memorial Day parade. A bunch of boy and girl scouts, Knights of Columbus, the High School marching band and a firetruck. Oh, and a float from the Lutheran church with people handing out pinwheels with the church's name printed on them."

"No dykes on bikes?"

"What?"

"My soon to be ex-roommate, Mark, lived in San Francisco for a while and there's this group called dykes on bikes that ride in all their parades."

Pam laughed, "Really? That's what they call themselves? That's funny. Well, we didn't have _them_, I'm pretty sure. " She thought a second, " though we did have _tykes_ on bikes...does that count? Still, for all its lameness, it was a nice parade. Everybody in town came to see it. Or be in it. Anyway, count me in for Monday."

By now they had reached the hotel. Almost as soon as they stepped into the lobby, all of the comfort that Jim had felt all evening with Pam, dissolved, and his heart began thumping wildly. He had no expectations, since this was only their first date, and Pam had just broken up with her fiancé, and it was all too soon for anything, or so he argued to himself, but still it felt extremely weird to ride up in a hotel elevator with her.

"This is weird, huh." Pam said.

Jim hoped that Pam wasn't actually reading his mind. "Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow?" He asked, trying to sound casual. "When do you have to get back?"

"No particular time. I guess we lose these rooms after tonight, right?"

"I don't know. It's a holiday weekend. I can't imagine that anybody would be coming into town on business. I could ask. We could go to a museum tomorrow or something. Or do something touristy. I mean this _is_ New York City, and all we've done so far is exactly what we could have done in Scranton."

"Yeah. Except that we never did."

"True. Well, Pamela, here we are. Room 324. Got your key?"

Pam withdrew the key card from her purse. "Well, uh. I had a really great time. I hope…" she looked up at Jim, eyes wide, and he pulled her close to him and kissed her. Pam wrapped her arms around his neck and they stood there kissing passionately, in the deserted hotel hallway. Suddenly, the elevator doors down the hall opened with a loud mechanical squeal. Pam pulled away, as a middle aged couple came out and headed down the hall towards them. Pam looked down at the key card in her hands. The couple opened the door to the room two down from Pam's and went inside.

"Pam?" Jim said softly, "What do you want to do?"

Pam kept studying the key card, as though the answer was somehow encoded on it. She wouldn't look up at Jim, afraid to see the love and longing that she knew would be written all over his face. Finally, she shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, " she said, "I – I think it's too soon. You know?"

"Yeah. I know, " said Jim, trying to quell the desire and disappointment he felt in equal measure, even if he hadn't really expected more, "That's okay. No problem. I'll call you tomorrow morning. Sleep well, Pam."

"You too. Goodnight, Jim." Determined, she stuck the card in the lock and the tiny light blinked green.

Jim quickly walked across the hall to his room, fumbling his keycard from his wallet. He heard Pam's door close behind him, and turned around to look at the empty hallway, and her bland, featureless hotel door.

He let himself into his room and flopped face down on one of the two double beds. " Down boy," he lectured himself. It had been a perfect evening...better to let it end this way. There was no rush. Someday he would make love to Pam. It would happen, so no point in beating himself up about it tonight. Feeling somewhat better, he got up and went into the bathroom. He got undressed and got into bed. Thank God, at least Fred was gone. He switched on the television. The room had pay per view porn, but that was the last thing he needed tonight, with all of the imaginary Pam porn floating around in his head already. He flipped the regular channels listlessly, finally ending up with Letterman.

When the phone rang, he jumped a foot. Heart thumping, he picked up the receiver. "H-hello?"

"I have a confession to make." It was Pam, but her voice sounded different. There was a note to it that he had only heard hints of once before, on another hotel phone.

"Oh yeah?"

"I've had Happy Family before. And also Moo Shu pork, and probably everything else on that menu tonight. Even the spicy stuff. I _love_ Chinese food. Roy and I used to have it at least once or twice a month."

Jim laughed, "Okay. So you lied a little. It doesn't matter. Because you were right. It was silly for me to be so closed-minded. And the food was great. No leftovers, right?"

"But, but…I feel so _guilty." _There was that note again. This was a Pam he had never met before, except in his imagination. Seductive Pam.

"And well, you should," he said sternly.

Pam sighed, dramatically, "I feel like I should come over there and apologize…in person. "

"O-okay," Jim managed to croak, even though his voice wasn't working quite properly. However, the rest of his body seemed to be in excellent working order. In fact, some parts of it seemed to be putting in extra effort.

"Actually, " she said, breathlessly, "maybe you should come over here. I don't want to have to put my clothes back on just to go across the hall."

"I'll be right there." He slammed the phone down and leapt out of bed. He pulled his jeans on, zipping them with some difficulty, and threw on a tee shirt. Barefoot, he was almost out the door, when he remembered to grab his key card. Seconds later, he was knocking on Pam's door.

"That was quick, " Pam said laughing, as she opened the door. Jim quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The only light in the room was from the little nightlight over one of the beds, and from the television, where Letterman was on mute. Pam was wearing a pale blue cotton nightshirt, more of an oversized tee shirt than a nightgown, and her hair was loose and very curly about her face. Jim looked down at her. She was so lovely that she took his breath away.

"Well, here I am."

"I've been thinking," Pam said, "Come in, sit down. This may take a minute."

"I told you, Pam, I'm not in any hurry." Jim sat down in the generic hotel swivel armchair. Pam sat down on the side of the bed. Her nightshirt was very short and rode up high on her thighs when she sat down. Jim's swiveled himself out of direct view so he could actually listen to what Pam had to say.

"I met Roy when I was sixteen. My dad had gotten transferred to Scranton the year before. I was quiet, shy, kind of nerdy. Roy was the hero of the football team. So, when he began paying attention to me, it was like a miracle, you know? I mean, he could have had any girl in school, but he picked me. We started sleeping together in senior year. After the prom, in fact. Total cliché, huh."

Jim smiled, remembering his own senior prom, "Yep. Been there, done that. They should have given us all tee shirts."

"Maybe if I'd gone away to college, we would have split up. But instead, I stayed in Scranton, went to Marywood for two years."

"How come you didn't graduate?"

"My folks ran out of money. My Dad got sick...had a heart attack before my junior year. He's fine now, but he couldn't work for months. I figured I'd get a job and help out, and go back to school later. Never happened. Roy was just as glad. He couldn't be bothered with college, himself. Went to work for Dunder Mifflin right out of high school. Three years ago, when I lost my job at Farber Brothers after cutbacks, Roy got me hired there. When my Dad was transferred back to South Williamsport, I decided to stay in Scranton. I got an apartment with my friend Stacy. After Roy proposed, we got an apartment together. The rest, as they say…"

"Is history."

"The thing is, Roy and I were comfortable together. It was easy. It was..."

"Beef with Broccoli."

Pam snorted, "Well, I don't know about the broccoli, but basically, yes. So anyway...that's why I owe you an apology. I made you take a gamble this evening on mystery Chinese food, but I wouldn't take one myself. On you."

"No apology needed. But does this mean you've changed your mind?"

In response, Pam stood up and walked slowly over to Jim's chair and sat down on his lap. Putting her arms around his neck, she looked him in the eyes and said, "I love you, Jim."

"Oh God, Pam," Jim said, enfolding her in his arms, "I love you so much."

He started slowly at first, staying there in that chair, kissing her, and stroking her gently through, and then under the thin cotton shirt. By the time he picked her up and carried her to the bed, they were both more than ready.

Because of the holiday, they were able to keep his room until they left to go to Jim's family picnic on Monday morning. But they never did get to any museums.

The end


End file.
